It is no secret that Conflict is one important cause of political instability and a consequence of poor institutional quality and low foreign direct investment in the small West Africa Country of Sierra Leone .

The fight over hegemony, and resources among political parties have resulted to various conflicts which takes the form of Revolutionary warfare, Insurgency and conventional warfare in the c0untry.

The various forms of warfare the country has endured resulted to the branding of Sierra Leone Internationally as a country known for political instability, civil war and blood diamonds which have ripple effects in attracting foreign direct investment and economic development.

Sadly, Sierra Leone is still amongst the low human development countries in the world according to the just-released United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 2023-24 Human Development Index.

The country is ranked 184th out of 193 countries with a Human Development Index score of 0.458 in 2022, down from the 0.477 score in 2021 when the country was ranked 181 out of 195 countries (report.hdr.undp.org).

The Human Development Index is a summary measure for assessing average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

Researcher, Eric Johnson, Standford University revealed in one of his publications  that Sierra Leone suffered terrible social and economic costs as a result of its civil war and fight over diamond control. Under the cover of warfare the rebels committed heinous crimes against humanity in the form of murder, rape, and mutilation. The war between 1991 and 1999 claimed over 75,000 lives, caused 500,000 Sierra Leoneans to become refugees, and displaced half of the country’s 4.5 million people . Also during this period, the Sierra Leone economy was being cheated out of millions of dollars in the form of illegal diamonds.

As the scars of these memories remain fresh  in the minds of Sierra Leoneans , many questions whether the country is safe for doing business as a result of the recent November 26 coup attempt and the announcement of the deployment of an ECOWAS Stabilization Force in the coming weeks or months in the country.

As demonstrated above with the atrocities that have occurred in Sierra Leone, it is apparent that some action immediately needs to be taken to eliminate these sources of death and destruction. Whether the solution is, the current  Tripartite negotiations amongst Political Parties initiated by the International community or the deployment of ECOWAS stabilization force , action needs to be taken now because enough lives have been ruined and lost over the struggle for political hegemony and the distribution of the country’s national cake.

Colonel Issa Bangura, Director of Defense Public Relations and Information, stated in an interview with AYV Media  that the force will strengthen Sierra Leone’s security apparatus in light of recent riots, demonstrations, and a failed coup attempt.

“ECOWAS has decided to deploy a sizeable force to support our security sector,” said Col. Bangura. “This will deter any attempts at unconstitutional power grabs.”

He emphasized Sierra Leone’s importance as a member state and the international community’s investments in maintaining peace and security. “We won’t allow the country to regress into conflict,” he declared.

This deployment follows a decision by ECOWAS leaders during their 64th Ordinary Session in Abuja, Nigeria. The leaders strongly condemned the November 26th coup attempt and called for justice through due process. They directed the ECOWAS Commission to support Sierra Leone and facilitate the deployment of a stabilization mission.

An ECOWAS delegation led by President Dr. Omar Allieu Turay previously met with the Bio administration to discuss the possibility of deploying a standby force. This confirmed deployment signifies a concrete step towards bolstering security in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, during President Bio’s state visit to The People’s Republic of China from Feb. 27 to March 2, he held strategic meetings with Chinese companies and  investors luring them to invest in Sierra Leone.
The president used the opportunity to attract crucial investments that will benefit the nation’s long-term development goals.

He assured Chinese investors of a welcoming environment in Sierra Leone. He cited successful examples of Chinese companies already operating in the country, such as the Leone Rock Company.

However, according to Brian Perry, financial planner and strategist overseas investors do a careful analysis of the economic, political, and business risks that might result in unexpected investment losses. Perry defines Political Risk as the political decisions made within a country that might result in an unanticipated loss to investors. Thus, Peace and stability in Sierra Leone will reduce political risk for foreign direct investment.

Trailing behind this is the country’s continual grappling with the dwindling diaspora remittance inflows due to instability as one of the factors, marking a concerning trend that will affect foreign direct investment.

Following a notable surge from US$113.94 million in the third quarter of 2022 to US$142.14 million in the fourth quarter and further climbing to US$142.69 million in the second quarter of 2023, a downward trajectory commenced in the third quarter of 2023.

Awoko reports that the decline saw remittances plummeting from US$126.9 million to US$111.8 million in the fourth quarter, marking an 11.9 percent decrease. Though , the Central Bank projects a potential strengthening of remittances in the next quarter, emphasizing the resilience of Sierra Leoneans abroad in supporting their families and friends back home achieving such target hinges on stability of the country devoid of insecurity threats.

However, if political parties and Sierra Leoneans come together and give Peace a Chance; devoid of greed, Tribalism, Nepotism, regionalism  for national development , Sierra Leone will surely change its narrative by optimizing it brand internationally, leveraging the social, political, professional, and intellectual capital of its diaspora citizens to enhance institutional capacity, attract foreign direct investment, and promote inclusive and sustainable development in the West Africa Country.